US sanctions 16 Maduro allies over election fraud, Venezuela says move 'crime of aggression'

The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over voter fraud in the country’s election and his government’s ensuing crackdown on the political opposition, drawing a sharp response from Caracas, terming the move as a “crime of aggression”.

Maduro’s reelection claim has been rejected by the United States and other nations.

The US move to impose sanctions came just days after Edmundo Gonzalez, recognised by the US and other countries as winner of the July 28 presidential election, fled to Spain after Maduro’s government issued a warrant for the opposition leader’s arrest.

Reacting to the development on Thursday, Venezuela rejected, in the strongest terms, the new “crime of aggression” committed by the US.

“Venezuela rejects, in the strongest terms, the new crime of aggression committed by the government of the United States of America against Venezuela… seeking to ingratiate itself with a political class that has resorted to fascist and violent practices to overthrow, without success, the Bolivarian democracy,” AFP quoted Venezuela’s foreign ministry as saying in a statement.

Among those targeted by the US were Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodriguez, electoral council director Rosalba Gil and National Assembly Vice President Pedro Infante. The list includes others linked to the election as well as military and intelligence officials accused of post-election repression.

As part of the first punitive US measures in response to Maduro’s disputed reelection claim, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was also imposing visa restrictions on an unspecified number of “Maduro-aligned” officials.

But the US stopped short of announcing any new actions against the OPEC member’s vital energy sector, which is already under heavy US sanctions, an omission that raises questions about the potential impact of the new measures.

President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking to punish Maduro and his loyalists for what the US sees as reneging on the promise of a competitive democratic vote while also pressuring him into negotiations with the opposition.

“The Treasury Department is targeting key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election, as the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans call for change,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a message on Telegram that his government rejected the “new crime of aggression by the United States against Venezuela in imposing unilaterally coercive, illegitimate and illegal measures on officials of the state.”

Demands for transparency

Election officials and Venezuela’s top court have said Maduro, a Socialist who has been in power since 2013, won the election. The opposition said tallies collected by its observers show a resounding victory for Gonzalez.

Many democratic countries have condemned Maduro for claiming victory without providing proof, demanded full transparency, and accused him of tampering with the vote count.

Gonzalez, a 75-year-old veteran diplomat, flew to Spain seeking political asylum last weekend after Venezuelan authorities threatened to arrest him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes, charges that he denied.

Venezuelans’ hopes for political change have largely faded with Gonzalez’s flight, the post-election crackdown and the international community’s failure so far to take decisive action to loosen Maduro’s grip on power.

Washington’s cautious response, some US officials have said, reflects misgivings about actions that could spike global oil prices or inflict serious damage to Venezuela’s already struggling economy, fearing that could spur an increased flow of Venezuelan migrants to the US-Mexico border.

Aides to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who has replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket for the Nov. 5 US election, are wary about giving Republicans a further opening on the hot-button immigration issue.

Asked whether the US was weighing future oil sector-related actions, including adding restrictions on US oil producer Chevron’s operations in Venezuela, a senior US official told reporters a “range of options” were under consideration but did not provide details.

The new Treasury sanctions call for freezing any US assets held by the targeted officials.

However, there are questions about the effectiveness of such individual sanctions, given that Washington has already targeted more than 140 Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself in 2017, and placed US visa bans on nearly 2,000 people.

The US official insisted the sanctions were an important step in an effort to pressure Maduro to “make better decisions” on Venezuela’s political situation before the presidential inauguration in January.

Washington, which rejected Maduro’s 2018 reelection as a sham, broadly eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry last October in response to a deal between Maduro and opposition parties. But in April the US reimposed the sanctions, accusing Maduro of failing to meet most of his electoral commitments.

With inputs from agencies